Big Hero 6: The Crossover

Chapter 3: What was once impossible

"Big Hero 6. A force for good. The bane of all evil. The superhero team that San Fransokyo never thought they wanted, but the one they needed—"

"Enough, Fred!" GoGo interrupts the nerd's lengthy monologue as the superheroes makes their way through the newly refurbished Krei Tech building.

It has been three months since Big Hero 6 became public. Three months since they found out the culprit who set the fire during the SFIT showcase was beloved professor and head of the university's robotics program, Professor Robert Callaghan.

Three months since Tadashi's death.

Although his heart is no longer filled with a self-righteous sense of justice turned vengeance, Hiro still can't find himself ever forgiving the former professor. He's glad that Baymax stopped him before he could sully Tadashi's memory. He may never get over get brother's untimely death, but at least he can honor him through his actions. He never intended to form a superhero group with his brother's nerd group at his brother's nerd school in order to do so, but that's what happened. And now he's a member of said nerd group, attending said nerd school, with said superhero group.

In addition to gaining a superhero team, Hiro also gained something he never thought he craved: friends. Being a child prodigy never warranted friends. In fact, it usually did the opposite for little Hiro. Who wants to be friends with the teachers' favorite (not that teachers liked him much, either. No one likes a smarty-pants)? His only use was as a punching bag or as a homework mule. High school was no better. At thirteen, Hiro looked forward to taking advanced classes, but even this proved to be too rudimentary for the young genius. And having a younger, smarter classmate intimidated the other high schoolers, so much so that they avoided him altogether. When Tadashi first introduced him to his "nerd school" friends, Hiro expected the same treatment: derisive glares, upturned noses, condescending remarks about how his age contradicts his intellect. Instead, he was surprised not only by their scientific achievements and Fred's… extensive pop culture knowledge, but also by their convivial personalities, with the exception of GoGo, who shows kindness in more reserved ways. It was the first time Hiro had ever felt like he belonged, and he's grateful every day for Tadashi's meddling ways.

And then there's Baymax. He was the last thing Tadashi ever created, the last mark he left on the world. The giant marshmallow embodies his kindness, his nurturing, and even a little of his stubbornness. Just like Tadashi, Baymax has a habit of helping people even when they don't ask for it. But he isn't just a piece of machinery: as a member of Big Hero 6, he's the team's powerhouse and guardian; to his friends, he's a permanent reminder of their best friend; to Hiro, he's family. And none of them can imagine life without him.

Yep, friends, family, the thrill and excitement of being a superhero—Hiro's got no complaints… except, lately things have become super boring.

It seems like villains are only as evil as the amount of technology they invest into their crime, and none of the criminals they've faced have been as technologically adept as Callaghan. In this month alone, the most lethal thing the team has encountered was a bank robbery, and the guy only had a bat. Lame.

On the plus side, the lack of major criminal activity has made it easier for the college students to catch up on their school work. Tadashi had been right; SFIT is no joke. Bot fighting was child's play compared to all the classes Hiro now has to take, but he wouldn't have it any other way. Each class brings new challenges to the table, and Hiro anticipates tackling every task, mathematical or otherwise.

Today, the team—minus Baymax and sans body armor—is on their way to see the CEO of Krei Tech. After rescuing him and the rest of San Fransokyo from Callaghan's revenge plot, Alistair Krei decided to be their alleged sponsor. So far, the team's work has been low-key, but advertisements for Big Hero 6 started to become commonplace on the billboards of metropolitan San Fransokyo, and on occasion Hiro's seen a few kids passing his street playing with action figures that looked suspiciously like Baymax in his red flight suit. He has no doubt that Krei is profiting off them, but the least he can do is share the profits.

Of course, when they confronted Krei about it, he kindly reminded them that he was not only aware of their secret identities, but he wouldn't hesitate to share this information with whomever was willing to pay for it. Although it didn't sound like much of a threat at first—the only person who could possibly harm them was locked up indefinitely at the San Fransokyo Correctional Facility—they soon realized that, while they were perfectly capable of defending themselves, the same couldn't be said for their friends and families. The last thing Hiro wanted was to put his aunt in harm's way. So Big Hero 6 agreed to Krei's terms (for now), and Krei became their financial benefactor.

Needless to say, Hiro and his friends do not enjoy these circumstances.

On their way to the office, Fred decided to monologue their journey throughout the building. Now that he's living his greatest dream, the comic book guru takes every opportunity to exaggerate their endeavors audibly. Sometimes it's hard to tell if he can differentiate reality from fantasy. At the moment, it's a welcome distraction for all of them. Well, all except GoGo. And Wasabi. Maybe even Honey Lemon.

"Once again, our favorite heroes are summoned to their benefactor, the nefarious Alistair Krei. And while Fred's Angels are content to—"

"We've been over this, Fred," says Wasabi. "We are not going by 'Fred's Angels'!"

"And I am definitely not content," murmurs GoGo. "If you insist on monologuing, the least you can do is be accurate."

"I agree," inputs Honey Lemon meekly. "About Krei summoning us, not the monologuing. If he wants to see us, it's probably not for our benefit."

"I don't think this is just some PR meeting," Hiro says. "If Krei just wanted to exploit us, he wouldn't have summoned us to ask for our permission. Something's up."

During Fred's delusional soliloquy, the young robotics genius had been trying to come up with a plausible reason why Krei would call him—as the designated leader of the troupe, Hiro thought it only right that Krei have his contact info in case of emergencies—and so early in the day. He only said it was important and that the team needed to meet him ASAP. Hiro could only assume it was an emergency.

Soon, the group reaches the office doors. Hiro knocks, the light rap causing an echo in the cavernous hallway. Krei's assistant opens the door for them, and Hiro can see Krei pacing behind his giant bureau.

As soon as he sees the college students, he runs right over to them. "Hiro!" he exclaims in relief, "and friends! I'm so glad you're here."

"Is he ever going to learn our names?" asks Wasabi.

"Probably not," Honey whispers.

"I need your help," continues the billionaire. "Someone stole something from me."

"What else is new?" Hiro mumbles under his breath. Out loud, he asks, "Why didn't you call the police?"

"Well, why call the police when I have my very own team of superheroes?"

"You stole something, didn't you?" GoGo asks bluntly.

"No, of course!" The young woman pops her gum, unconvinced. Out of all five of them, GoGo is the most skeptical, and no one blames her.

In addition to being one of the most successful entrepreneurs in San Fransokyo, Alistair Krei is renowned as a sketchy businessman, never afraid of using shortcuts in order to get his way. But after nearly getting killed by Callaghan, Krei started taking safety protocols more seriously and became a little more sensible about his investments. But none of them are so naïve to believe he completely changed his ways.

After ten seconds of GoGo's blunt glare, the billionaire breaks down. "The apparatus of my teleportation device was stolen last night."

The room is suddenly overcome with an overbearing silence, and not even the pop of GoGo's gum can break it. Hiro has mixed feelings about this discovery. That machine caused him a lot of grief; it's the reason Callaghan is jail, the reason he lost his brother. But it's also partially the reason Big Hero 6 exists and the reason he's now surrounded by a group of courageous friends instead of vindictive peers. The fact that Krei still hasn't dismantled the machine says more about him than the thief, and he can only assume someone stole it for the same reason. He definitely doesn't want a repeat of the Yokai incident, and from the looks on his friends' faces, they agree.

Honestly, the thought of dealing with another high-tech villain excites him.

"We'll find the thief, Mr. Krei," he finally answers. Before he can breathe another word, Krei has him by the shoulders and is leading him and the rest of the team out of his office.

"Thank you so much, Hiro! I'm glad to know I can always depend on you and your friends! My assistant will lead you down to the lab. Thanks so much again!" And with that final word, the business tycoon closes the door, leaving the team in the hands of his very capable assistant.

"Follow me, please." The stern woman leads them back down the hall and into the elevator. She opens a secret compartment of buttons below the regular ones and presses the one on the bottom right.

The ride is silent and awkward and exceedingly long. None of them have ever heard Krei's assistant talk before; they don't even know her name (what kind of pompous jerk doesn't address their assistant by name? Hiro thinks rhetorically). None of them know how to dispel the awkwardness congesting the elevator, so they resort to word-mouthing, shoulder-shrugging, and, Fred's specialty, eyebrow-dancing, in order to communicate without breaking the silence.

A few minutes and a soundless conversation about cheese later, they finally arrive in the "secret" lab. "This way, please." The silence prolongs, with exception to the clicking of heels and the squeaking of sneakers treading across the flawless linoleum floor. They soon reach another secret room, where a few scientists are working. Seeing the new arrivals, the scientists turn their attention to them, making the college students feel even more awkward. "Clear the room." The sharp tone from Krei's assistant is enough to send the scientists scurrying out the room like errant rats. If they have a problem leaving their equipment with a bunch of kids, they don't show it. Once they're alone, BH6 begins their investigation.

It almost feels like they've gone back in time, back on that island in the abandoned lab, where all was revealed: the discovery of the failed experiment, the revelation of Yokai's identity, the blind rage Hiro felt in that moment, taking out Baymax's healthcare chip, the bottomless shame he felt for leaving his friends behind on that island and nearly tainting Tadashi's legacy—

Overall, it's not a good feeling.

"Whoa, guys. Do you realize what this is?" Fred's delusional tirade cuts off his thoughts, and for once Hiro's grateful for it.

"Uh, yeah. Krei already told us," answers GoGo. "Someone stole the portal. That's why we're here, looking for clues."

"There's no need, my super-powered compatriots, for we won't find any clues. This is clearly the work of an anti-hero!"

"An anti-hero?" echoes Honey. "Could you elaborate?"

"Krei's a shrewd businessman; Callaghan probably isn't the only one who has beef with him."

"Then wouldn't that make this another revenge scheme?" Wasabi points out.

"Don't encourage him."

GoGo's warning goes unheeded. Fred is already on a roll. "Think about it! If he simply wanted revenge, why didn't the thief go up to Krei's office and do the deed then? Why did he steal the device instead?" A tangible pause fills the room as everyone ponders on it. So far, Fred's logic is sound. The comic book prodigy takes this as his cue to continue. "And notice how there's barely any damage to the walls, the floor, not even a measly finger print." He brushes his finger over the stainless steel of the wall, licking it. Wasabi grimaces in disgust. "Obviously this was an inside job."

"I think Fred's right," Hiro concurs. "Whoever took the device knew where Krei kept the portal. They knew about the secret lab." The youngest of BH6 checked out all four corners of the room while Fred was postulating. As the comic book enthusiast said, there's no sign anyone has broken in at all. "Only someone with access to this underground facility could have done it." He turns to Krei's assistant. "Who all has access to this facility?"

"Krei and any authorized personnel assigned by Krei."

"So, anyone," GoGo concludes. "Super helpful."

"Do you think we can maybe get a list of the people assigned to work down here?" asks Honey Lemon politely.

"That information is classified."

"Krei really doesn't like making our job easy, does he?"

A light bulb blinks to life in Hiro's mind. "Maybe that's the point…"

"What was that Hiro?"

"Nothing!" He glances over at Krei's assistant, who is stoically watching him and his friends. "You know what, how about we just take a raincheck on this investigation?" Everyone looks at him as if he's lost his marbles. "Finals are next week. I don't know about you guys, but I don't plan on failing my first semester at SFIT just because someone decided to steal from the richest man in San Fransokyo."

His friends continue to stare at him as he heads towards the door. Finally, Fred gasps, having caught on to Hiro's ploy. "Oh, right. 'Finals'. Yeah. Knowledge is power after all, and knowing is just half the—"

"I think they get it, Fred."

GoGo pops her gum and shrugs. "Fine by me."

"Wait, seriously?" Wasabi is flabbergasted as he follows them, but the mention of finals does increase his haste to leave.

Honey Lemon, who is also confused, decides to go along with it. "I mean, Hiro does have a point…"

From the corner of his eye, Hiro spots Krei's assistant on her phone, thankfully indifferent to their sudden departure. Once they're all assembled in the hallway and away from prying eyes and ears, everyone, except Fred, look to the young genius for answers.

"If the thief really is one of Krei's employees, we can't take any chances. It could be anyone."

"Including Krei's assistant." Fred peers around the hallway in suspicion. "No one can be trusted."

"And Krei's not being very forthcoming about the incident," GoGo points out. "He's hiding something."

"So what do we do now?" asks Honey Lemon.

"Even though Hiro was just trying to get us out of the lab, I do like the idea of studying for finals," says Wasabi. "Now that we're done with our final projects, we have more time to study. We have no clues so far, and whoever stole the portal can't use it without a power source. I don't think we have anything to worry about right now."

"Wasabi's right. Studying should take priority right now."

GoGo grimaces at the reminder. "I haven't even looked at Professor Granville's study guide yet. It's ten pages long."

Hiro wants to argue that they shouldn't just set their investigation aside for final exams, but he knows they're right. They may be superheroes, they are SFIT students first.

As the heroes make their way to the elevator, discussing study schedules and, in Fred's case, snacks for late-night cramming and procrastinating, Hiro mentally devises a new plan. Krei is definitely hiding something, but if he's not willing to share what he knows, then there are plenty of other ways to get that information. Finding the thief is another story. One thing's for sure:

There's a new villain in San Fransokyo, and Hiro is totally psyched.

O—O

"Dude, wake up."

Hiro swats away the hand poking him. Rubbing his sleep-deprived eyes, the young prodigy can barely make out four figures standing over him. "Oh, morning guys."

"Dude, it's, like, three in the afternoon," Wasabi corrects him.

"You missed all of your classes," says GoGo.

"And free doughnuts!" adds Fred. "Felipe brought them for his birthday." He takes a huge bite into an apple fritter.

"Have you been here all night studying?" Honey Lemon asks in concern.

"Teenagers need approximately nine-and-a-half hours of sleep every night," Baymax comments from his charging station. "Proper rest boosts your immune system, repairs body cells, and helps maintain hormone levels, which is especially important for—"

"Thank you, Baymax! We get it!" Once again, the healthcare companion finds a way to mortify the teen with simple medical facts. "Okay, I might have overdone it last night."

"Yeah, no kidding," says the ever sarcastic GoGo. Looking at the screen of his computer, her dark brown eyes narrow at the content. "This is a list of Krei Tech employees in R&D. You haven't been studying at all, have you?"

"You do realize we have finals in a week, right?" reminds Wasabi.

Hiro smiles sheepishly. "Well, I was planning on studying, but then I happened to find my way to the Krei Tech website instead, and… well, you can guess the rest." Between his initial excitement at the prospect of facing a new villain and the urgent need to find the portal as soon as possible before San Fransokyo is destroyed, Hiro spent the rest of the day doing little else. Studying is the last thing on his mind.

"How'd you get access to this?"

"I… may or may not have hacked into Krei's account."

Honey Lemon looks scandalized. "Hiro!"

"I still haven't found any leads if that makes me look better." From the looks on his friends' faces, it doesn't. "None of the R&D scientists seem like the kind of people who could pull this off. I still gotta do background checks on the rest of Krei's employees and—"

"Okay, that's enough of that." Hiro cries out as GoGo pinches his ear. "Your aunt called us last night. We had to lie for you and tell her that you were studying with us for finals at Fred's house. Now you're going to go home, reassure Cass that you're not dead, and then drop the investigation and sleep."

"Okay, okay! Just let go of my ear!" The older girl does so, and Hiro glares at her as he rubs his tender ear lobe.

"Woman up."

"GoGo's right, Hiro," says Honey. "We know finding the portal is important, but this isn't something you should be doing alone. And you definitely shouldn't be hacking into Krei Tech. We're a team. That means we do this together."

"We're called Big Hero 6 for a reason," adds Wasabi.

"Yeah, and next time you want to snoop, how about letting Fredzilla in the know—ow! Ow!" Fred cries as GoGo pinches his ear.

Hiro finally looks at the collective faces of his friends and teammates. Seeing them worried for him and willing to go along with his plans—though he's partial to Fred when it comes to doing reckless things—makes him even more grateful to Tadashi for introducing them into his life. The thought warms his heart in spite of the ache that comes with thoughts of his deceased brother. "Thanks, guys."

"Come on. We'll take you home." Wasabi pats his shoulder, and Hiro nearly falls out of his chair. He's so exhausted he can barely move. Fred and Honey Lemon help him up before they all walk to parking lot outside the Ito Ishioka Robotics Labs.

A few minutes later, they park a few blocks away from the Lucky Cat Café. Hiro got to nap a little on the ride there, so he has just enough energy to walk back home so he can collapse onto his nice, warm bed. But he has to get past Aunt Cass first.

Dreading the inevitable, Hiro is suddenly astonished by the sight before him. He can't tell if it's sleep-addled brain finally catching up to him or what, but it's real enough to make him stop without warning, causing his friends to bump into each other. "Hiro, what—" GoGo's upbraiding falls flat, and she's clearly noticed it, too. The others soon follow suit as their eyes take in what they never thought possible.

Standing before the front entrance of the Lucky Cat Café are three figures. One is a dog wearing a red vest with a detachable tag on the side that says in big, bold letters, "EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMAL. PLEASE DON'T PET." Behind it is a girl around his friends' age who is taller than GoGo, but shorter than Honey Lemon. She's holding the arm of their main focus. It's someone who'd haunted his dreams for two weeks straight, someone he never thought he'd see again except in photos and videos and the heart of his robot.

Someone they'd buried three months ago.

"Tadashi?"